Post Your Comment

38 Comments

I just bought an ATI AIW 9600 Pro and am wondering if you want tell me how to get the tv tuner to display on the secondary monitor. The article talks about the tv display "docking" when you try to move it to the secondary monitor, but the article goes on to discuss what happens when the tv display spans two monitors and that it shows only on the monitor that has the largest part of the tv display window.

Is it really worth it to upgrade to an AIW AGP card for PVR type features, versus a PCI card? I have a AverTV Studio Card and use WinDVR software to record my shows. But, the quality seems to suck on some low & high channels! I was wondering if the xtra bandwidth from the AGP slot versus the PCI slot would clear up the recordings? I already have a 9000 Pro for what litte gaming I do. The gaming I'm not concerned with! I mostly use it as a TIVO (with no subscription fees!!!)Reply

I concur. Not having DVI is a real step back for ATI on this product line. This is the first Radeon AIW card that has not offered DVI. A huge disappointment, as my LCD monitor takes only DVI (which I bought because the first Radeon AIW I bought had the DVI connector). And because it's an MDR-20 to DVI-D connector, I can't use it at all (well, there is that $400 converter, but that kind of defeats the purpose). Talk about pulling the rug from under you. Thanks a bunch, ATI.Reply

I can't comment on how good the 9700 AIW is, but you can definitely notice the difference between using a VGA adapter instead of (the better) DVI connection. It isn't a substantial degradement, but as long as you have an expensive LCD screen, you might as well use all the available features. Unless you really need the new/additional features in the 9600 AIW, I would go with 9700 AIW if you can afford it. You'll be getting a better gaming card in the process too... Reply

I am Considering to buy the 9600 Pro AIW. Mainly because its has everything i need. but only one problem it doesnt have a DVI. I own a LCD monitor and i was wondering if i use the VGA cable rather then the DVI. is there going to be any differents in picture quality. or Should i just go and buy a 9700 Pro AIW. if i do, i wont be able to have some of the new features they implimented into the 9600 AIW. What should i get?Reply

#17: The 9600 can't perform like a 9700--it has only 4 pixel pipes compared to the 9700/9800's 8. It simply won't perform the same at higher detail settings (i.e. AA, AF). Even AT's article mentions this. Still, the 9600 seems to offer much better performance for it's class and price range than some of it's competition. Reply

Tweaknews.net indeed had more material, but most of their info is straight from ATI's website description of the product, including all PR BS: "The power to pause live TV", "industry leading digital video features for unprecedented video quality." The point of a review is not to regurgitate stuff like this, but to test and verify them. Their review read more like an ATI sponsored advertisement. NBTW, I have nothing against ATI personally (have a 9600 Pro myself) -but just wanted to point out that AT's review was simply more concise and to the point. It would have been even better with some gaming benchmarks is all.... Reply

Why did Andrue fail to mention that besides the great bang for the buck, there is also the same coupon for free copy of HALF-LIFE 2 download once the game is released. And this is for the FULL game, with multi-player. And also their is a free upgrade coupon for the newer Remote Wonder 2.0. Of course for both of these you have to pay shipping and Taxes, but this adds even more value to an already 'Steal of a Buy.' And the article seems kind of lukewarm feeling, for the 9600AIW. And yes, seeing new gaming benchmarks is kind of necessary as the AIW version of the card is not clocked the same speeds as the standard 9600 Pro.

I would love to have this card, BUT....... I have a Power Color 9700 NON-pro, and I don't think I would want to take the performance hit going with the 9600 core. Now I get 16,010 3DMark2001SE and 4480 2003 Marks; and this is all for my card that is not OCed at all running @ 277/270 speeds. But my 2.4c P4 is OCed to 3.07Ghz, so maybe this inflates my 3DMark scores a bit.

But If I had to get a new Video Card today, I'm 99% sure I would get the 9600 AIW, you just can't beat the value you get with this card. I guess the only downside for me is that I don't have cable, so I would have to hook up a old school 'Rabbit Ears' type antenna. (Would this even work, or do I need cable only for TV functions?)

Still one of the best products ATI has ever come out with, a much better value than the 9700 or 9800 AIW's And thats my lengthy $0.02Reply

The card is more than just a Radeon 9600 Pro with multimedia features. The AIW 9600 Pro runs at 400/650 while the Radeon 9600 Pro runs at 400/600. FiringSquad benchmarked the card and found it to be a few percentage points faster than the Radeon 9600 Pro.

#7 No, the AIW 9600 pro will not fit in Shuttle XPCs in particular because the positioning of the FM connector conflicts with the AGP/PCI support bracket on the back of the chassis. This issue was first noted online by another site, The Firing Squad, and I confirmed via email with ATI Tech Support that this is an issue. I guess you could cut the bracket, insert the card, then solder/weld the piece back on, but those that don't want to mess around with their cases are currently out of luck.

It's possible that the card may fit in non-shuttle XPCs, I think the MSI Mega was mentioned, but I'm not familar with other brands SFF PCs.Reply

#7 I don't know, but would like to. I read on a link to another site that I believe was in HardOCP's daily news section that it would not. The FM antenna would not allow the card to be placed in the slot. They even had pictures, however, it didn't look like they were trying very hard. Then MaximumPC came out this week recommending it for a Shuttle XPC entertainment center. They even described how to install it with pictures included. I tend to trust MaxPC over whatever site tried this.Reply

Anand... fo rizzle dawg! Fix dat price engine yo. You my homey an all dat, but you ain't gettin you no invite to da crib to tip any mo fo-ties until you git up in dat...fer reel... the AIW has been on da shelves at Allstarshop and GameVe ALL WEEK. Now Newegg got that hotness an it still ain't up on dat $hizzle. aight... me out.Reply

Great article...could have used some gaming benchmarks though. I would have probabaly bought the AIW version over the standard 9600 PRO if it had been around when I upgraded my system 2-3 months ago :(Reply